Wedding Dances
by deecherrywolf
Summary: It was a beautiful day for Azuma Junpei to take Tsukishima Ichiyo's hand. But how are the new brother & sister in-law taking it? Cross Game Fanfic. Azuma Yuhei/Tsukishima Aoba.


It was beautiful weather for a wedding... fitting for Azuma Junpei to take Tsukishima Ichiyo's hand. And Koh couldn't help but believe that Wakaba was blessing her eldest sister... asking the heavens to make sure Ichiyo's wedding would be the loveliest. He smiled at the headstone, he was already in a tux, shifting uncomfortably in it. He had to meet up with Akane in a moment, who was invited as well. It was surely a joyous occasion. He saw someone from the corner of his eyes and smirked.

"Tell me you are not wearing that to the wedding."

Aoba sniffed, glaring at the other. "Of course not! I just happened to be out for my morning run... I thought I'd come by and let Waka in on what's going on."

"I'm sure she already knows."

"I'd like to tell her anyways."

The two childhood friends stared at each other for a moment until Koh finally budged... giving in to the stubborn Aoba. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his dress pants. Aoba allowed her head to follow his actions, glaring angrily at him.

"Where are you doing now?"

"To meet up with Akane. We're going to the wedding together."

Aoba felt her breath catch in her throat.

–

Aoba glared into the mirror as Ichiyo helped her with the dress. She had rarely worn a dress... in fact, this is one of the few times she had ever remembered wearing one! But for Ichiyo's wedding, she would. Adding the fact that Ichiyo had chosen her to be the maid of honor only made it even more necessary. She glanced over at Akane, who smiled at her.

"You look lovely, Aoba."

"You really think so?"

Akane smiled reassuringly. "Of course! I told you, you're a very cute girl."

Aoba glanced back at the mirror. She wasn't so sure. She thought she looked silly. She turned lightly, glancing at her back in the mirror. She sighed. "Can we get this over with quickly?"

Ichiyo frowned. "Ao-chan! Shouldn't you be happy for me? It is my day, after all."

"I am! It's just this dress..."

Akane stifled a smile happy giggle. "Don't worry. You look great."

She sighed. Having them repeat it only made her feel worse.

–

Yuhei raised an eyebrow at the nervousness of his brother. Junpei had been pacing for the past thirty minutes or so. He sighed and glanced at Koh, who was sitting in a chair, leaning back, bow tie untied, and legs kicked up. He scoffed. "Shouldn't you be ready?"

"Hm? I am ready."

"Not like that, you aren't. We could be heading out any moment, you know."

Koh sighed, pushing himself up, tying the bow again. "Okay, okay. I wish he'd stop pacing already."

Yuhei looked back at his nervous brother, who nearly had a heart attack when Seiji poked his head in. "Are you all ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, father!!"

Seiji smiled warmly at the trembling Junpei. "Chin up boy, today is a happy day. Let's go ahead and get down there. Koh, you'll be walking down the aisle with Akane... Yuhei, you'll be taking Aoba up there."

Yuhei twitched lightly... sure that no one noticed. He knew as the best man he'd be walking with the maid of honor... but the fact that he liked said maid of honor, made it awkward. He scratched at his neck... suddenly feeling a little hot. Koh walked over to Akane, holding out his arm. "You look very beautiful, Akane."

She smiled at him. "Why thank you, you don't look half bad yourself."

Yuhei glanced over at Aoba and felt his mouth run slightly draw, but keeping his trained expression in check. She wore an identical dress to Akane... a light purple-ish dress that clung at the hips and went straight down... a very delicate floral pattern near the chest region, barely even visible. They both wore long light purple gloves. Akane's hair was up in a bun with purple flowered clip. Aoba's short hair had a purple flower pin in it... her make up delicate. She glanced up at him, eyebrows furrowing lightly. "What?"

Despite her appearance, the tone spoke volumes of her personality. Yuhei felt his lips twitch, lifting slightly as they often did. He held out his arm for her to link hers with. She did so quickly. He murmured to her as she drew herself closer. "You look nice."

"I wish people would stop telling me that. It makes me think they are just trying to make me feel better."

Yuhei frowned. "That's not true."

"I don't understand why Ichiyo wants a western style wedding anyways," scoffed Aoba, clutching to Yuhei's arm a little tighter. "It's embarrassing."

Yuhei remained silent for a moment before speaking once more. "Would you like a traditional style wedding?"

She glanced at him, unsure of what to say. Yuhei peeked at her from the corner of his eyes, watching her brow wrinkle lightly as she actually thought about it. He felt his lip twitch. "You don't have to fret over it."

She sighed. "You're right. It doesn't matter... what matters is today's wedding."

–

Aoba was more than happy to take a seat as many around her partook in beverages and dancing. She was just glad to get off of the heels. She huffed out a sigh, leaning against the back of the chair, glancing over at Koh and Akane. Both held a cup of bunch and were conversing together. Old, childish stirrings of jealousy boiled within... but she knew better. Though Akane looked a lot like Wakaba, the girl wasn't Wakaba... and even thinking that was a bit painful. She smiled sadly at the thought. It was too bad that Wakaba couldn't be here for this moment in person. Aoba smiled in spite of herself.

"You'll have to settle for spirit, Waka-chan."

"You say something?"

She blinked and looked at Yuhei, who held out a cup of punch to her. She took it graciously and looked back at the dance floor. "Just thinking of Wakaba."

"Oh."

Aoba looked at him from the corner of her eyes, then noticing a few girls, mainly ones invited by Koh and the others, ogle at him. She turned her head toward him, giving him an amusing smile. "Don't you want to dance with any cute girls out there?"

Yuhei looked at her with that same blank look. "I'm not much of a dancer."

"That's no excuse."

"Then... why aren't you dancing?"

The question almost took her off guard. But she looked back at the other dancers. She suddenly felt awkward. Which was sort of surprising... she had never really felt awkward around Azuma before. But now? The air felt tight and her heart felt constricted as well. She pushed her self up, almost falling forward on her face... if it hadn't been for Yuhei catching her by the wrist, steadying her fall. She gawked at him for a moment before speaking, the words of Junpei floating in her head.

_do you like him... as a man._

"Want to join me outside?"

He frowned, but allowed her to gain back her balance and followed her outside, ignoring the looks some of the others gave them, including the grin from his brother. He watched her as she walked ahead of him, the makeshift pond by the reception area was illuminated by the moon and made her purple dress look darker and more... stunning... He blinked. Did he really just think that?

She turned toward him, giving him a small smile. "I don't like to dance in front of other people."

"I see. Did you have to take me outside to tell me that?"

"No... but I did have to take you outside to ask you to dance with me."

His eyes widened for a small moment. He eyed her before gently offering one of his hands. Despite her usual loud bravado, she was suddenly feeling shy and a little uneasy. Her breath hitched as Yuhei pulled her against him. The feeling of his beating heart made her face flush and her own hear pound... and then they were moving.

The small circular motion calmed her a little as she allowed her hands to wound around his shoulders. She tensed for a moment as his hands trailed from her shoulders to gently wrap around her waist, bringing her body closer. She sighed softly, resting her head against his chest. These new feelings were different and a little scary... but she swallowed them quickly to speak to him.

Unfortunately, her voice came out in a soft, husky whisper. "I'd probably want a Western wedding."

A similar husky tone whispered back. "Oh? Even after it being embarrassing?"

A shiver ran up her spine at the sound of his voice, vibrating against her body. "I don't know... a Western styled wedding seems more modern nowadays."

"I see."

She jested lightly. "And what about you?"

"... whatever she wants is fine."

"You don't have preference?"

"No, not really."

She smiled lightly, closing her eyes for a moment. "That's kind of sweet. Some people argue over it."

"Mm. I'd just want her to be happy... so I suppose a Western wedding would do."

She looked up at him, shocked to find him already looking at her. The thoughts of him confessing to her floated back to her mind... and the hospital visits... Azuma Yuhei was something else... unlike most guys that got interested in her, he didn't crowd her... but he knew when to come closer. He was serious most of the time but had an interesting sense of humor... and she liked him that way.

She liked him.

_She liked him as a man._

That thought struck her to her core. It was the first time she had ever thought of those words without being asked... she liked Azuma... she liked Yuhei. Her eyes fluttered shut and she rested her head against his chest once more. He blinked in confusion, but merely tightened his hold on her and kept them dancing. They could hear some of the music from the reception area from where they stood... but more importantly, the sound of nightlife surrounded them as well... creating an orchestra of beautiful and natural music... and then the best music of all for Aoba, was the beating of Yuhei's heart against her head... thudding strongly against his chest.

The music ended and they pulled away slightly. They looked at each other for a moment, hearing someone announce it was time for the bride and groom to have their dance. Aoba frowned. "We should head inside now... Ichiyo would hate it if I missed her dance."

"Yeah."

But they didn't budge. Their eyes still interlocked. Aoba could feel her heart thumping loudly, beating harshly against her breast in nervousness. Slowly she got on her toes and kissed him. Swiftly, she pulled back, managing to get out of his grasp. "Okay, let's head ba-!"

She never got to finish that sentence. Yuhei had grasped her retreating wrist and pulled her back into his arms, locking their lips in a secure kiss. Aoba hummed against his lips in shock, but quickly relaxed into the kiss. The hot feeling of his lips against hers made a tremor run up her spine and caused her arms to twine around his shoulders. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt something warm and wet run against her lower lip. She gently opened her mouth to him, feeling his tongue move into her mouth, gently rubbing against her own tongue... waking it up to this new feeling to engage in a dance all of its own.

The sounds of their wet kissing resonated through her head as the sound of nightlife chirped around her... her sister's song beginning in the background as well. She shuddered... she should be in there... watching her sister and new brother-in-law dance... instead of kissing her other new brother-in-law.

The pulled away gently, panting lightly as they stared up at each other. Yuhei quickly gained his composure and helped her stand upright. Aoba looked up at him.

"Let's head back, shall we?"

He followed her lead, just like when they had came out here to begin with. Curiosity grew within him.

"Does this mean we're dating now?"

Aoba stopped walking. He watched her carefully... he could never tell with Tsukishima Aoba on her reactions. She turned to him... a beautiful light blush on her cheeks and a teasing smile on her lips.

"Who do you think I am? I wouldn't kiss someone who wasn't my boyfriend."

His lip twitched upward, watching her walk again. "Is that so?"

Aoba smiled to herself, a flush growing dark on her face. Sure, Azuma Yuhei was no pitcher... and he sure as hell couldn't throw 160 km/h... but that didn't matter. Childhood fantasies didn't always turn out the way you planned them when you become an adult... and though she knew she'd fall in love with some baseball player, she never had pictured it being in the vision of Azuma Yuhei.

She turned toward him. "May I call you Yuhei?"

"Of course. Am I?"

"Call me Yuhei? I dunno.... that's kind of weird."

His lip twitched again. "Aoba..."

"Yes?"

He gave her a chaste kiss before taking her hand. "Let's go watch everyone dance."

She blinked, then smiled happily. "Of course."

They walked into the reception area not as two separate people... but a couple.

(THE END)

OMAKE:

The pulled away gently, panting lightly as they stared up at each other. Aoba licked her lips nervously, wanting to speak, but wasn't sure what to say. Unfortunately for her, Yuhei decided now was the moment to cope a feel. His hard, masculine hand fell upon her rear, giving it a firm squeeze. She narrowed her eyes, rearing back her hand.

"Pervert!" she wailed as her hand hit him on the cheek. He toppled over and she stomped back to the reception area.


End file.
